Budak Pantai!!!

Finally got to watch my most favourite a cappella group life at esplanade last night! The performance was really good. They had good voice range with the tenor singing bass and even the bass could reach quite a few high notes. What i enjoyed most was their jokes and how they could take a song and change it to something funny. It's their creative in music that inspires and after watching them sing, i definitely want to join choir again!:)

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas again..time of giving and sharing but most importantly a time of love..for family, friends and the greatest lover of all, our LORD JESUS CHRIST! May HIS love fill ur homes and family and that u will all have a time of knowing HIS LOVE!
Well, i'm off for my family dinner now, hopefully all of you are spending time with your family as well. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

GOD's Grace

Whew..had a long day at work today, was telling my friend that at work either one is very free or one is very busy but never in between.
Had to send some notes to photocopy today and i passed it to the lady at the shop and after explaining what i wanted left at about 2pm. Later on, before i left for home, i realised that i made a mistake about what i wanted photocopied and prayed that it was not too late. I reached the shop at 6pm..and Praise be to GOD, the lady hadn't started photocopying yet and she actually said it must be GOD that made me come back to clarify. Indeed GOD is good all the time!

It's all about love

Was listening to some old chinese love songs last night and one of those songs was about how the guy had nothing left and was probably gonna die soon but yet his girl still stayed with him all the way, willing to walk with him until the end. Thought that it was probably the most touching to see when either the guy or girl knowing his/her partner has nothing to offer them, does not walk away but willing to go all the way till the end. Indeed it is true love.
Then i realised that's just a fraction of what JESUS love for us when he died for us at the cross, for we had nothing to offer HIM and yet HE willingly bore our shame and sins out of love and compassion. For not that we first loved HIM but that HE first Loved us. Thank YOU JESUS!

MOL

Just finished watching the magic of love today. Even though i've watched it many times, it still tugs at my heart and reminds me so much of GOD's love and that at the end of the day love is what matters most. Praise GOD that many people came and the place was pretty packed! As pastor shared his family's testimony, it reminded me once again to share my own and how sometimes i can explain about Christianity all i want but some people will still feel like it is just another religion.
But when we testify of our lives, we show a GOD who's Real and loves us so much!
Another thing i realised from talking to my friend is that we truly are educated beyond our intelligence, how everything must be debated upon. Too much knowledge alone is not a good thing either, for your head blocks what your heart yearns for, which is love that only JESUS alone can give.

Thanks Howe n Shirley

my good friend lucas went for his knee op today, thank GOD everything went well he's now safetly home resting:) and don't worry howe ur car's in good shape, didn't scratch anything by GOD's grace haha.
I've had a good time of catching up with my ex-cell leader raynard and asking him his reasons for leaving FC and what he's learnt. Believe what i took back was that one of the most important things as a Christian is ur own personal devotion with GOD. Sometimes, in the way our Church is run we can get so involved in the many activities but forget about our personal time with HIM. Gained a new appreciation to be under howe, these past 3yrs cause he always encourages time with HIM more than just rushing into activities done at Church. Do feel that its these 3 yrs in which i've grown the most. thanks howe and shirley!

Visions and Dreams

Had cell with my guys today and i felt that it was a good time of just praying and encouraging them to just speak out with any words that they felt the HOLY SPIRIT had placed in their hearts. Even though there were only 3 of us, i could feel the presence of GOD with us..the msg that Pastor Khong shared today was really meaningful because many times when we have cell or fellowship, we focus very much on the Word and teaching which is not wrong, but we might have neglected moving in the SPIRIT and letting HIM speak through us, be it Prophecy, Words of wisdom or Word of Knowledge that edifies the cell. Doing so really helps us grow spiritually and allows GOD to speak directly to the HEART which truly transforms a person from the inside out!

The gingerbread man

Went to watch a children's musical called the gingerbread man done by the little company..was an interesting experience cause i've never been to one. Although its for the kids, there were some parts only adults would understand and slight sexual innuendo. I felt a bit sad at that cause at such a young age, although the children might not understand, it could stay in their minds and when they grow up they will feel such is acceptable behaviour.. all this just reflects the state of our society and its views. I also happened to walk thru clarke quay for the first time on a sat night and saw so many young people out for a good night of partying and self-gratification and with news of the IR and Casino that is coming soon, i felt that as Christians sometimes we have been too protected and turned a blind eye to what is happening in our nation. i, for one have also been guilty..it's time we truly rise up, pray for our Nation and do something about it!

Faith to Heal II

Well, remember i was sharing about faith and how faith is relational? Sometimes when we pray does it seem we are like twisting GOD's Arm? Our intentions may be good but nevertheless we are pursuing our agenda over HIS..We need to come before HIM and say LORD U want to heal because YOU love each and everyone of us so much and its HIS personality to heal us..

Faith is also Real and resolute...there is the need to believe and then recieve...we must believe GOD that it can be done and WILL be done...We cannot allow what we see or Feel to shake our faith.To be resolute is to not give up but no matter how long it takes to just believe that GOD CAN and WILL Heal you..Would it not be better to believe and die not receiving healing than go through life with unbelief and doubt?

Faith to heal

Been reading this book, how to pray for healing by Che Ahn a pastor from america and when he starts sharing about faith the first point he makes is that faith is relational. Mark11:22 says 'Have faith in GOD'. How do we have this faith in GOD? By recognising the Father Heart of GOD and seeing that it is this relationship between a Father and child that GOD Wants to heal us just as our earthly fathers would always wish that we are well.

1. Faith is Relational
2. Faith is Revelational
3. Faith is Risky
4. Faith is Real
5. Faith is Resolute

Revelational-there is a 'rhema' WORD from GOD, a word that imparts faith. Risky because sometimes outward steps must be taken(mark 10:46-52) As Blind Bartimaeus pursued JESUS for healing, the moment he heard JESUS calling him, he threw off his Cloak! A Cloak for a blind beggar is important because its their source of shelter and where they slept. By throwing off his cloak, Bartimaeus was saying 'i'm not going to need this anymore because JESUS is going to heal me!' So as we pray in Faith and say we believe, are we ready to throw off our 'cloaks' ?

Grandma's

Had some time off yesterday as there wasn't much to do in the office...i'm really thank GOD for the time off though cause i got to spend it with my grandma who's in singapore for 2 weeks before going back to muar... and had a good time just listening to her share her worries and she does back in muar.

Decided that i will visit her in muar sometime soon and when i told my dad, he thought the whole family could go during next yr CNY! Think its a great idea and i might get to drive up...how howe?
anyway i realised my grandma and me although we have some communcation problems( MYchinese is bad and HER english is bad), we think the same way. Cause we must be clear in our minds that everything is settled nicely, otherwise will keep thinking and thinking one haha:) so i'm glad for the bonding time we had!

Got a pair of new specs!

Finally got my new pair of specs today! haha though my dad says it kinda looks the same as the old one. oh well... managed to meet my ex-classmate and good friend from secondary school enrico today. Haven't seen him for 4 yrs! but really thank GOD for a wonderful time to catch up with him and encourage one another in the faith. am glad to see him grow strong in JESUS and serving HIM at lighthouse.

Was reading this book on healing today and a sentence caught my eye ' we need to be a good host of the HOLY SPIRIT' when someone comes to our house, a good host brings water, food, and spends time with the guest and usually does what the guest wants to do. So often, we just invite the HOLY SPIRIT in our lives and homes, but are we good hosts? do we do what HE wants? or want we want? Do we spend time with HIM or just carry on with our usual lives?
Its so important to be a good host. LORD, Help me!

tired after SL

Wow finally finished my SL training....that stands for service learning btw so basically service is to meet real needs and learning must be intentional. oh man that's like so automatic le haha. really tired think i have to go sleep soon....actually inspired to blog after seeing other ppl's blogs. So interesting. well howe have to catch up with u soon and share all i'm learning GOD Bless!

2nd day of ECC

Well last night was the 2nd night of the 2nd part of the book of ECC. What i took back was that just as GOD gives HE takes away, so its not wrong to enjoy what GOD has given you but hold it with an open palm not a closed fist. We are stewards not the owner. And that truly wise people prepare for the future and not just the present. Even worst are those who keep looking to the past. For me, i realise that there are many times, i'll go the old days were better, but we shouldn't say such things rather prepare for a better future instead of trying to hold on to the past.
For those who want to go for the 3rd part, its prob in Jan!

Ecc 5:1-7

Learned alot from ps benny ho during the study of Ecc at wesley yesterday. To keep my promises to GOD, to mean what i say and say what i mean is really important. For if we don't take GOD seriously, GOD won't take us seriously too. Let the Fear of GOD govern every aspect of your life and you will find that many things just fit into its proper place. There was a video of a man being used by the HOLY SPIRIT to reach out to the people in Egypt and how many were saved. To see GOD move so powerfully, indeed all our petty desires and worries all pale in comparison. It truly increased my faith that while i do not know how it is going to happen, i believe that GOD will use me to reach the masses and to see Singapore won for Christ. HALLELUJAH!

HOLY SPIRIT Come!

I believe today' msg abt the HOLY SPIRIT by Ps Lawrence Khong truly touched my heart. At first, i remembered thinking about how Pastor had already preached this message before but as he wrapped up, he reminded us about not taking the Holy Spirit for granted. I have been in FC for almost 9+ years and i realised that indeed i have become numb to the blessings of GOD and the power of the HOLY SPIRIT when people are saved and blessed. It seems to have become commonplace. When i repented of this hardened heart, the HOLY SPIRIT breathed new faith in me, faith to believe that it is not how persuasive my speech is but all by HIS power, and through HIM miracles can and WILL happen! PRAISE GOD!

TCS

For most of u who probably don't know, i've kinda started working at tcs under ps lily helping her in the leadership and department section. Honestly, its the first time i'm working outside besides ns and its actually very tiring... really find myself challenged daily!
Only started on monday but so far my main task is that of clearing out the service learning cupboard and putting everything nicely and for someone who rarely cleans his own room, its really a big challenge to do so..started asking myself if this is really what i wanted to spend my time doing?
i thought i would be helping teach youths and all? but as i continued to reflect and think, i realised that how can i ask others to serve if i myself don't do so?
So i thank GOD for placing me in this place and i pray i give HIM GLORY everywhere i go, making the place better after i leave then when i first arrived!
oh and a happy bday to Daniel and Don!

Happy deepavali!!!

Well today was really an intersting deepavali..had a good time playing frisbee and generally just goofing around with the guys and the younger sisters:) When i asked rachel, she seemed really excited about the idea of having combined cell with the guys haha...thanks to dan and lee lian for letting us use their place and taking the time off to spend time with us!

after that, went for a quick dinner with a good female friend of mine because our bdays are in the same month and had a good time of catching up. Met my old jc friend while was having dinner,she went to US to study and hopefully can catch up with her soon!

Alright happy deepavali guys!

Running that Race

Went running this morning..Wow its been a long time since i had run around my estate and it felt pretty good.As i ran i asked GOD for more "LORD, please enlarge my territory", i felt that i could do more with my life than what it is right now.

Yet as i ran, i compared my life to running, i did not want to just run around my estate, i want to run further than that, just as the same as my life to run further. Even as this thought passed through my mind, i felt the HOLY SPIRIT prompt "so why do u not run further than ur estate right now?"

I answered "because i haven't been training and i don't have the stamina"..even as i said this words the revelation of what i said shocked me. Indeed it is because i have not been training, just as runner need to train for a race, so do we need to train our spiritual life by walking with GOD, Obeying all HE asks and having that determination and perseverance to finish that race! Yes, HE will guide and help us but at the same time we must be willing too and not give up!!!

Only then can we have the stamina to run the race of life set before us by the LORD and finish well.

Drinks anyone?

Wow was another really long day at work but i thank GOD for the strength to see it through..had to do enforcement at this seafood restruant and basically we just check their fire extinguishers,exit lights and hosereels, so we had to issue a letter to this place cause their fire protection systems was really non-existent and we tried to use a portable printer and to my amazement, it worked!! I've been doing this for over a year and it's the first time i've seen it work so really a miracle and on top of that, we all got free drinks from the lady boss..one of my men remarked that whenever i go with them we always seem to get free drinks...told him it was GOD'S Blessings...

we went to duxton road at night to check all the pubs and stuff..my junior sergeant remarked that it would be cool if we could check ic's cause there were prob some girls who were illegal immigrants or something and how nice if they said that they would do anything so as not to get in trouble with the law..then he asked me what i would say but before i could reply, he said that i would ask them to go to Chruch on sunday!! i mean he's only been in my station for barely 3 months and i just feel for him to answer like that, i really must thank GOD that i am making an impact on my fire station! so i do really PRAISE HIM and pray i will continue to glorify HIS NAME!

C.O.M.E.T

Had a really good time today with howe,ying,marco and joe, really thank GOD for the opportunity to share more of my heart and hear from the rest about our feeling and i do pray that as men we can be more open to share our inner feelings and not just share what is on the surface..

COMET basically stands for cliche,others,myself,emotions,truth and these are the 5 levels of communication which truth being the highest. it is good to ask oneself what is ur level of communication with GOD? and what is HIS level of communication with you?

on the last note, dan have a good rest GOD BLESS and heal ya and HAPPY BDAY ELAINE!!

1939-1945

Those were the years at which many people fought and died so that S'pore could be as it stands today, a free country..went to Kranji war memorial after Church with my network people and it just amazed me to see truly how many THOUSANDS of people died for my country to be free just like how JESUS died for us on the Cross that we may live eternally..all this just brought me back to the really want to live a life worthy unto GOD that it will truly count for something..

At Church today answered the call of being a pastor to my workplace even though i only have 9 shifts to go but basically telling GOD that no matter where i go i want to continually pray over that place and seek open doors..i do really pray for the faith and boldness to see all of it through because sometimes i'm just so afraid and shy but by the grace of GOD, i can find Courage in JESUS just like the song take it all, LORD help me to NEVER be ashamed of YOU!

Howe & Akeelah

finally have time to do some blogging after the past 2days..where to start?

First i think i'll share about my meeting with howe at siglap on thursday had a good time and really re-learnt about praying and talking to GOD about everything and anything..as usual howe really makes u think and become more aware of why u do what u do instead of just going about life by instinct..as i'm typing this i'm just have this picture of "shuffling" which is what firemen do when u're in an area full of darkness and smoke, u put one leg forward at a time testing if the ground ahead of you is solid while making sweeping motions with your hands to ensure that there is no debris in front of you.. just the same as when you are not clear about your life goals and purposes, sometimes we go through life "shuffling" taking one slow step at a time, fully unsure, afraid to fall or hit something, following our instincts and like lost sheep but when we are clear and truly sit down and know our purpose and calling from GOD it is like a light shining through the darkness and just makes everything all the more clearer.

Back to thursday, after meeting up with yong howe, i put what i learnt into practice and that is to just pray and talk to GOD about all my events of the day and also thanking HIM for the blessings throughout the day..i met up with clarence chan and joseph at TCC citylink and found a wonderful time of sharing and boding as brothers in CHRIST,realising that i'm not alone in what i go through in this phase of life and having people understand what u feel both clarence and me promised to be accountable for one another and before we left prayed for each other..met charmain heah(raynard' sis) for dinner cause she's going back to uk to study and at the very least was able to lend a listening ear to what she's going through..at the end of the day i distinctly remember just praising GOD in my room and feeling so much more aware of HIS presence in my life..oh n i called jordan's mum and was able to talk to her realisng that when jordon did not come for service it was not just because of his exams but because he wanted to watch TV! so yeah still praying and pray with me too that he will mature and his heart will be for GOD

Friday was a working day and i continued to practice just sharing my day with GOD, something i had really forgotten to do. i realise i pray but only in the morning and after that i only pray when i need something and go through most of my duty relying on my own strength not GOD'S.. i ended that day with this realisation(with some help from howe) for coming back to knowing GOD with our hearts not just minds and it is
1. Where is your heart?
2. talk and share with GOD about everything(even as mundane as meeting a friend for lunch)
3. as you do so you will be aware of GOD'S presence in your life because HE is always there watching
4. to look for that moment of humility each day(something i learnt from second half of the man in the mirror)
basically means to just enter into a moment in which you see GOD in all his Holiness and splendor and his Awesomeness that will last through the day

finally today.. went out for a movie with my family which is called akeelah and the bee, it was a really touching movie and think howe should watch it(if he hasn't already) probably come up with more quotes haha this quote just stayed in my mind...

‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond imagination. It is our light more than our darkness which scares us. We ask ourselves – who are we to be brilliant, beautiful, talented, and fabulous. But honestly, who are you to not be so?
You are a child of God, small games do not work in this world. For those around us to feel peace, it is not example to make ourselves small. We were born to express the glory of God that lives in us. It is not in some of us, it is in all of us. While we allow our light to shine, we unconsciously give permission for others to do the same. When we liberate ourselves from our own fears, simply our presence may liberate others.’
- Marianne Williamson in Return to Love: Reflections on a Course in Miracles

the words in bold just seems to pounce on me and reminds me of Pastor's message of being salt and light, it is not just salt but LIGHT that we bring to the world...
and when we are that light and allow the light of GOD to shine through us, others seeing our example will shine too!

on a lighter note got my parents to buy me a new hi-fi set for my bday haha!
GOD Bless and hope what i share inspires all of you

Plaza sing

wow its really great to be able to have a day off before i can't take anymore leave cause of worldbank :(
went out with jason jordan tim don and ying today had a great time watching monster house it really isn't that bad a film and was pretty funny at times haha:)
the best part was really joking about "Research and Development" with jason and seeing him blush!!

Jamming

Went jamming with timothy today and some of his friends. first time at a studio and i must say it really is quite fun..think the best part was being able to meet his friends and get to know them and talk about what goes on in the Church and stuff and find that we have many similar interests like battletech! so hard to find people who read that nowadays..

Church Service was good yesterday. really thank GOD for the opportunity to share with the rest of the guys my struggle and learn more about overcoming sin from yong howe and it really took a load off my shoulders today! LORD i ask that you help me to obey and not choose deliberately to sin ever again. Thank YOU JESUS for what YOU'VE done on the Cross! AMEN!

LoNg Daaay but Exciting too!!

Hmmm realise its more than a week since i last blogged haha...well better late than never i guess:)
its been a really long past few days..my fire station going on audit AGAIN!! 2nd time this year had to go back today to finish up my work and listen to my officer tell us how to ensure we do our work properly which is good and i'm not complaining about that but i hope they realise our main job is still to fight fire and save lives not all the admin stuff.......
had a nice steamboat with pam sylvia and zheng yang after that was good to catch up with the soh sisters and sylvia reminded me of praying about my future and whether GOD has called me to be a pastor...she's really good at seeing past surface impressions and ask questions that are direct and to the point, its really refreshing to talk to her haha
then went for ps benny ho's teaching tonight..he's really a good speaker and was very interesting..once again was reminded of shepherding and discipling my guys and from comments(via email) about the day which i missed the teaching, i realise i need to really bring my guys up in basic christian living skills..
would like to follow the divine reading example because sometimes we focus so much on just giving our people the answers or helping them settle their problems but we don't teach them how to be able to draw proper conclusions from the WORD OF GOD and not just from hearing others teach...pray that i am also able to intentionally disciple my guys and serve others together with them and being a good model...
well its another working day tmr 15.5duties!!!

must be realllly boreddd!!!

i can't believe i'm starting my own blog... i mean really starting my own blog that's like so weird..........thought only girls had so much to talk about then some guys start joining in and suddenly the whole word is rushing to put their "private lives" online where its well..not really so private..
ok back to the point i always thought i would never do this but i guess yeah i'm now officially a blogger! welcome to blogosphere mr. wong..i do hope i'm not doing this to attract attention or anything like that...
well to be fair and accurate when someone starts a blog no matter the intentions it always means u're after attention of some kind but i'm not like gonna tell all my friends about this, its more like for them to discover? yeah realised i do have a lot of feelings and thoughts and why not put them in a blog? its kind of like quite a perfect diary after all ...the pages don't turn yellow, u don't have to buy more diaries cause u never run out of pages, i get to be on the computer(which is a favourite pastime) and the program sorts everything nicely for u, how cool is that?